biological counterparts. The tendency of this period to use machines that resemble
nature climaxed with the creations of Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721–1790) that later constituted the basis for constructing prosthetic limbs.
Nowadays, the study and modeling of biological systems has led to the acquisition
of insights into a plethora of domains ranging from architecture to materials, sensors,
and control systems, and even robotics. The Velcro is an example of a fastening system
inspired by the tiny hooks found in the surface of burs. The leaves of the lotus plant
have inspired the creators of umbrellas and hydrophobic paints and coatings. Hypodermic needles were inspired by observing how snakes deliver poison through their
fangs. Japan’s bullet trains were remodeled after the Kingfisher’s beak to reduce air
resistance and boom sounds, while at the same time the trains now travel 10% faster
and use 15% less energy. The Eastgate Centre, a shopping mall and office space in
Zimbabwe, whose ventilation and cooling system was done entirely by natural means,
was inspired by the self-cooling mounds of African termites. These remarkable
advances are only some of the many examples that biomimetic approaches have to
offer, and several new approaches were presented in the Living Machines conference.
The main conference took the form of a two-day single-track oral and poster presentation program that included four plenary lectures from leading international
researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems: Auke Ijspeert (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland) on animal locomotion and biorobots; Bas
Overvelde (Soft Robotic Matter group, The Netherlands) on adaptive and modular soft
robotic systems; Li Zhaoping (Max Planck Institute, Germany) on visual systems in
humans, animals, and machines; and Holk Cruse (Bielefeld University, Germany) on
insect-inspired hexapod controllers. There were also 12 regular talks and 2 poster
spotlights featuring 29 posters. Session themes included: collective and emergent
behaviors in animals and robots; biomimetic vision and control; insect-inspired robotic
systems; advances in soft robotics; and biomimetic and biohybrid systems.
The conference was complemented by two online workshops. More specifically, the
“Growing structures: bioinspired innovation insights for architecture and robotics”
workshop was organized by Barbara Mazzolai, Thomas Speck, and Mirko Kovac.
Cross‐disciplinary talks in this workshop showed current initiatives and major perspectives on the form‐structure‐function‐relationship on various hierarchical levels of
biological materials and structural systems; growing and building strategies in plants
and animals; plant‐inspired technologies for adaptable and growing robots; as well as
biomimetic and biorobotics architectural installations and buildings. The “Shared
workspace between humans and robots” workshop was organized by Apostolos
Axenopoulos, Dimitrios Giakoumis, Eva Salgado, Vicky Vouloutsi, and Anna Mura.
The aim of this workshop was to present and discuss together with scientific and
industrial stakeholders’ novel technological approaches that facilitate the collaboration
between robots and humans towards solving challenging tasks in a shared working
space without fences.
The Living Machines conference traditionally chooses historical and inspirational
venues at the crossroads between life and human sciences. This year the conference
was to take place at the Botanical Garden of Freiburg. However, the world is crossing
uncharted territory as it faces the COVID-19 pandemic. This outbreak is having a
significant impact on our life, health, and economy as more than 20 million people have
vi
Preface
nature climaxed with the creations of Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721–1790) that later constituted the basis for constructing prosthetic limbs.
Nowadays, the study and modeling of biological systems has led to the acquisition
of insights into a plethora of domains ranging from architecture to materials, sensors,
and control systems, and even robotics. The Velcro is an example of a fastening system
inspired by the tiny hooks found in the surface of burs. The leaves of the lotus plant
have inspired the creators of umbrellas and hydrophobic paints and coatings. Hypodermic needles were inspired by observing how snakes deliver poison through their
fangs. Japan’s bullet trains were remodeled after the Kingfisher’s beak to reduce air
resistance and boom sounds, while at the same time the trains now travel 10% faster
and use 15% less energy. The Eastgate Centre, a shopping mall and office space in
Zimbabwe, whose ventilation and cooling system was done entirely by natural means,
was inspired by the self-cooling mounds of African termites. These remarkable
advances are only some of the many examples that biomimetic approaches have to
offer, and several new approaches were presented in the Living Machines conference.
The main conference took the form of a two-day single-track oral and poster presentation program that included four plenary lectures from leading international
researchers in biomimetic and biohybrid systems: Auke Ijspeert (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland) on animal locomotion and biorobots; Bas
Overvelde (Soft Robotic Matter group, The Netherlands) on adaptive and modular soft
robotic systems; Li Zhaoping (Max Planck Institute, Germany) on visual systems in
humans, animals, and machines; and Holk Cruse (Bielefeld University, Germany) on
insect-inspired hexapod controllers. There were also 12 regular talks and 2 poster
spotlights featuring 29 posters. Session themes included: collective and emergent
behaviors in animals and robots; biomimetic vision and control; insect-inspired robotic
systems; advances in soft robotics; and biomimetic and biohybrid systems.
The conference was complemented by two online workshops. More specifically, the
“Growing structures: bioinspired innovation insights for architecture and robotics”
workshop was organized by Barbara Mazzolai, Thomas Speck, and Mirko Kovac.
Cross‐disciplinary talks in this workshop showed current initiatives and major perspectives on the form‐structure‐function‐relationship on various hierarchical levels of
biological materials and structural systems; growing and building strategies in plants
and animals; plant‐inspired technologies for adaptable and growing robots; as well as
biomimetic and biorobotics architectural installations and buildings. The “Shared
workspace between humans and robots” workshop was organized by Apostolos
Axenopoulos, Dimitrios Giakoumis, Eva Salgado, Vicky Vouloutsi, and Anna Mura.
The aim of this workshop was to present and discuss together with scientific and
industrial stakeholders’ novel technological approaches that facilitate the collaboration
between robots and humans towards solving challenging tasks in a shared working
space without fences.
The Living Machines conference traditionally chooses historical and inspirational
venues at the crossroads between life and human sciences. This year the conference
was to take place at the Botanical Garden of Freiburg. However, the world is crossing
uncharted territory as it faces the COVID-19 pandemic. This outbreak is having a
significant impact on our life, health, and economy as more than 20 million people have
vi
Preface